CHANGSHA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Xu Junmei, vice president of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, is leading a medical team in Wuhan and racing against time to fight the novel coronavirus.
The emergency medical rescue team was comprised of 42 members and 10 medical rescue vehicles for different purposes, including ensuring daily necessities and medical tests.
Tens of thousands of medical workers have been fighting the novel coronavirus in the past few weeks.
Li Wanzhen, a nurse of the Xiangya hospital, is among the first few batches of medical workers from other provinces and regions who arrived at the intensive care unit of the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, one of the city's designated hospitals to admit patients infected with the novel virus, on Jan. 27.
Li and her colleagues helped perform continuous renal replacement therapies.
"When I saw the eagerness for survival of the infected patients, I felt an impulse to help them regain their health and was glad that I'm here to fight side by side with them," Li wrote in her diary.
Due to an undersupply of protective suits and limited time for toilet breaks, Li and her colleagues have to go to the bathroom before putting on the protective suits, and drink less water. "Some colleagues even put on adult diapers," Li said.
"I need to quicken my pace to save time and more patients," said 57-year-old Zhang Dingyu, president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, who has been on the frontline fighting the virus and racing against time to treat critically ill patients.
Wearing a protective cap and suit and putting on a face mask, Zhang clutches at the handrail as he slowly makes his way up and down the stairs. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, though he has never revealed the state of his illness to his colleagues.
A recent group of photos on local media in neighboring Hunan Province, where the situation is also grim, have gone viral on the Internet by capturing the ordinary daily lives of these "virus fighters."
When the medical workers remove their masks, goggles and thick protective suits, you can see their faces covered with "scars" and shirts drenched in sweat.
The photos drew hugely positive responses from netizens. "Take good care of yourselves, angels!" one wrote.
In a letter to her father, Li Wanzhen wrote, "I'm looking forward to embracing the dawn after the darkness and reunion after separation. At this very moment, China and many countries around the world are pooling efforts to contain the epidemic. Please wait for me mom and dad, I will come back safe and sound."
